At 14 years old, Hannah saw Paralympic sailing as a weaker option to her career, having been successfully racing on the able-bodied circuit all over the world. Already a world champion in her own right, 1999 offered a life-changing decision thanks to Atlanta gold medalist, Andy Cassells: the Paralympics or the Olympics? Andy offered her the chance to train with him in the run up to the Sydney Paralympic Games, and the rest, as they say, is history!
16 years, 4 Paralympic Games and multiple World Championships later, Hannah is now ready to take on her “Everest of the Seas”, the Vendée Globe round the world race. Inspired by Ellen MacArthur, Sir Robin Knox Johnston and other sailing legends along the way, Hannah is aiming to become the first disabled athlete in history to take on the toughest race in sailing – the 24,000 mile, non-stop, unassisted circumnavigation of the world – the Vendée Globe.